South African Trade Union protests 'racist' share offer

Cape Town- South Africa (PANA) -- The South African Trade Union Solidarity has called on the American government and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to bar telecommunications company Telkom from listing on the NYSE because of the company's alleged racist bias.
The South African government, Telkom's main shareholder, is said to favour blacks regarding the purchase of the company's shares at a discount.
Solidarity, which boasts some 128,000 members, has sent memoranda to the American Embassy in Pretoria and the New York Stock Exchange, on the issue.
In the memo, it accused the South African government of using "discriminatory racial prescriptions" on the offer of Telkom shares.
The US government and the NYSE were requested to urge the South African government to abandon such requirements.
The Pretoria government was quoted as saying that only previously disadvantaged South Africans would qualify for the special share offer in Telkom.
"A historically disadvantaged individual is a South African citizen, who was previously disadvantaged by unfair discrimination on the basis of race and could not vote before the April 1994 elections," the government said in a statement.
Kallie Kriel, spokesperson for Solidarity, said the move was against the union's commitment to the elimination of inequalities and poverty.